A New Beginning
by Die Flow
Summary: This is my own vision of how events after Journey's End unfold. I'm rating it M for the extremely mild smut it will eventually contain. Thank you for reading it.
1. Chapter 1

Rose 1.0

As the TARDIS disappeared, she just stood there. She couldn't believe he'd just leave here here, after all she'd gone through to get to him, to save him, to save Donna, not to mention the rest of the Universes. She, who had been the Bad Wolf, who had taken in the Vortex just to save him, who had been abandoned to another Universe, who had fought her way back (thanks in part to the Daleks ripping space apart in order to find HIM), she who had helped save the Universes just for HIM.

He came up and took her hand. Him. The Clone. The one who was – and was not – HIM. She had kissed him, and she had meant it. At the time. Now she wasn't so sure. How was she to be happy with this – this Clone? He wasn't HIM. Was he?...

She squeezed, then relinquished his hand. She was numb with grief and anger, she had a lot to sort out, and he wasn't helping, much as he apparently wanted to. How could she have been so wrong? How could she have loved someone so very much, just to be abandoned? Was there something wrong with her? She'd given everything she had, everything she was, just to be back with him, to keep him from being alone, and he did this? WHY???

She'd never felt so betrayed in her young life. What more can you possibly give to someone than everything you are, were, or ever hope to be? Yet apparently it wasn't enough. She was here, HE was there. An entire universe between them. And she just didn't have the strength to attempt it again, although she was sure it could still be done. Safely. With some Time Lord help from the other side.

So she turned and walked, following her mum, along a path they'd followed before, on what had previously been the worst day of her life. Now this day replaced it. What she had struggled for years for, believing it would be the resumption of the most fantastic life, was instead a life sentence imposed by the one person she _never_ expected. This was her reward for helping save the Universes.

She should have known after the first time he tried to fob her off on Pete at Canary Wharf. She came back, only to be lost. Now she knew why. She had to face up to it. He just didn't want her.

She was way beyond tears. She was MAD. And God help any being who made a Tyler female mad.


	2. Chapter 2

Ten Point Five 1.0

He stood there, staring at Rose. He had a feeling this was going to happen. In truth, it's probably exactly what he himself would have done. But his one heart ached for her. He knew she wouldn't understand, at first. But he would help her to.

Personally, although he resented being branded as "dangerous", he felt he had hit the proverbial jackpot. The weight of the Universes was quite literally lifted from his shoulders. It was no longer his responsibility to make sure that everything went the way it should, he could just worry about the (seemingly) relatively small task of making one Rose Tyler the happiest woman in the Universes. She certainly deserved it. He still could not fathom exactly how she did it, but she had managed to somehow pull him out of the depths of despair he had fallen into after the Time War, and into living and loving his life again. His one regret in all of it was that he was fated to watch her shrivel and eventually pass, leaving him to forever mourn her. Now he had the gift of growing old with her, no worries about the rest of the Universes, it was just down to the two of them and what they wanted to make of their lives.

If only she could see that. But he knew she couldn't just yet. She had an inkling, that wonderful, incredible, stupendous, awe-inspiring kiss she had bestowed upon him demonstrated that, but she still had the grief to deal with, of being left by the man she loved. Even he was a bit angry. It wasn't so much what HE did, but the way HE did it. It would have been nice to have been consulted, or (gasp) _asked_.

But he knew himself that that wasn't HIS way, HE did as the time-lines indicated. HE didn't have the luxury of doing what HE really wanted. HE had to keep the Universes going. Or, at least HIS.

He missed constantly seeing all the time-lines. He missed the sound of the TARDIS in his thoughts. But this one gift, the gift of Rose Tyler, trumped all of that. For once in his lives he really could do what he wanted, and he knew exactly what that was.

It stung when she relinquished his hand, but he understood. She had to come to terms with this on her own. So he followed her and allowed her the time and space to grieve. It was, after all, her right.

Besides, he badly needed to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Them 1.0

As they crested a hill, they could see the town ahead of them. From previous experience, they knew there was a decent hotel there. They'd stay there until Pete came to pick them up. He'd already called ahead and booked rooms for them, Jackie and her cell phone had seen to that. As the tired trio went on, Rose glanced back at – well, she still wasn't sure how to think of him. "The Clone" seemed demeaning. "The Doctor" didn't seem quite accurate. Whatever he was he looked dead tired. With a bit of alarm, she remembered the first time she had witnessed a regeneration, and it struck her that he was quite probably literally dying for some sleep. She quickly dropped back and slid an arm around him.

"You alright?" she asked, concerned and upset that she had been so busy fuming and crying that she hadn't realised how badly he was feeling.

"I'll be OK once I get a chance to rest, thank you." he replied, a little dizzily.

"You poor thing, I'm so sorry, I should have known how tired you'd be!"

"Not your fault, Rose Tyler. Just get me to a bed."

Jackie had stopped and turned around, a worried crease in her brow. She also had just remembered his previous regeneration. "He alright? He doesn't look good."

Rose answered quickly, "He'll be fine, Mum, we just need to get him to bed – soon!"

Jackie responded by sliding her arm around him as well.

"Well, c'mon then luv, we'd best get moving along."

They arrived at the hotel about a half-hour later, the staff was watching for them. Odd the way these Vitex billionaires would just come traipsing in without a care – or luggage.

"Please take my daughter and her friend straight up to a room! And where can I buy some toiletries and such?" Jackie Tyler "the organizer" was in her element and was directing everyone about. A bell-boy was helping them over to the elevator, and the concierge quickly had a list of food and other items to purchase straight away so they could get comfortable and rest. Pete had booked a small suite so they had adjoining rooms, and no sooner did Rose have him undressed and tucked into the king-sized bed than Jackie was up with bags of stuff. "Is he hungry?" she asked.

"Nope, he's out cold." was Rose's reply. And indeed he was, sleeping the deep sleep of one who has had his genetic code completely re-written and has been running on adrenaline and not much else ever since.

"Poor sot!" Jackie replied. "Well, I'm off to take a soak in a nice, hot bubble bath. You could do with one, too, Rose. You look about knackered yourself. I left some stuff over there in the bags, help yourself. There's some nice tea, honey, bath salts, soaps, shampoo, crisps, granola, and I bought some jogging suits and undies and dressing gowns so we'd have something clean to wear. They should fit well enough for now."

"Thanks Mum." Rose hugged her tightly."I don't know what I'd do without you."


	4. Chapter 4

Rose PT2

Rose gazed down upon the sleeping part-Time Lord and wondered. He looked so much like the man she loved, but wasn't – quite. Or was he?

She shook her head to clear it. It really didn't matter right this minute who or what he was, she needed rest herself. Yet she knew she was too wound-up to sleep, even though she needed to. So she decided to take her mum's advice and soak in the tub. She walked over and started going through the bags of stuff Jackie had deposited near the door. Sleepy-Time tea, lavender bath salts, and a white, fluffy dressing gown all beckoned to her invitingly. She gathered up these and some other toiletries and headed for the bath. She filled the coffee pot with water and ran it clear to get some tea water going, then stepped into the shower and sighed as the hot water washed the strain and cares of the last few days away. Once hair and body were squeaky clean, she directed the flow to the faucet and set the plug, and dumped a packet of salts into the bath. Stepping out to make her tea, she brought it back and relaxed into the hot, fragrant bath and sipped her tea. Then the tears came in force. She finally let go, let the huge sobs wrack her body, and let it all out. Eventually, she exhausted herself, and just relaxed.

She almost fell asleep, but her phone rang. She clambered out of the tub, into the bedroom, and over to her pile of clothes and fished it out of her pocket, but too late. She frowned, not recognizing the number. No message was left. Oh well, she thought, and padded back into the bath, let the water out of the tub, and finished drying herself off. Glancing at the towel she had just dried her face with, she realized that even the best waterproof mascara had its limits, and grabbed a few more items out of the bag and washed her face properly. At least she'd have a fresh face in the morning.

Trudging over to the bed with the sleeping Doctor, she cast the dressing gown aside and climbed in quietly. Not satisfied, she finally crept over to his side and snuggled up against him. She wasn't sure about him, but right now he was all she had, and she needed him. He felt warmer to her than HE had, and this new, half-human Doctor also had body odor, something she had never smelled on the former. Yet it was somehow comforting, and before she knew it, she had dropped off to sleep, her cheek resting against his shoulder.


	5. Chapter 5

TenPointFive PT2

He awoke more slowly than usual, with a comfortable, lazy feeling that was delicious and new to him.

"This is nice," he thought, "No wonder Rose enjoys sleeping in so much." He suddenly remembered where he was, and opened his eyes and was pleasantly startled to see her face resting peacefully against his shoulder. He studied her, enjoying having her so close. She must have cleaned up, she had not a trace of makeup on. He drank in her face, seeing a faint salty trail where an errant tear had been wiped away, and thought to himself that this clean, girl-next-door look suited her. In fact, he mused, he thought she had never looked more beautiful. She smelled of lavender. There was another smell as well, not so nice. He realized it was coming from himself. He really needed to shower. Another need was also presenting itself. He carefully extricated himself from under her chin, taking care to move slowly and gently so as not to wake her. He held his breath as she frowned briefly, then her brow smoothed and he exhaled gratefully. "Off to the loo then," he murmured under his breath.

Once there, he looked down at himself and sighed. He didn't remember having quite this much difficulty when he was human before, hiding from the Family of Blood. But, he reasoned, he hadn't woken up next to Rose Tyler then, either. "Now then," he lectured his member, "This won't do! What, do you want me to stand on my head just to pee?" His member remained resolutely at attention. Were he fully Time Lord, it would have obeyed him. Never mind that, it wouldn't have been this way to begin with actually, unless he told it to be. "Oh well then." He shrugged and leaned forward with one hand on the wall to steady himself, and managed to hit his target with a flood of relief.

Having accomplished one minor goal in adjusting to human life, he moved on to the next. He started the water going at the right temperature, collected the complementary soap and shampoo the hotel provided, and proceeded to get showered. "Aahh..." he groaned. As his former Time Lord self, showers had seldom been necessary, as his superior physiology didn't sweat under normal conditions, and seldom even under stress. As such, he mostly only showered perfunctorily when he inadvertently got covered with alien goo or mud or other such slop. But now, this... was wonderful! How had he managed to ignore such pleasure before? The hot water relaxed and invigorated him at the same time, the feeling of the water massaging his shoulders was inexplicably comforting, he found he didn't want to move apart from swaying gently to and fro to direct the flow over different areas of himself. Eventually he realized he probably shouldn't stay in there all day, and picked up the soap, marveling at the way the skin on his fingers was puckering from all the moisture. As he lathered up he grinned while thinking there were going to be a lot of little things to get used to. As he got to his hair, he was suddenly struck with the thought that he'd eventually go gray, or even – perish the thought – bald. Rose loved this hair. "I hope I don't lose it!" he thought. The shampoo lather was rich and thick. He pulled his hair up into four horns. "I have got to see this," he chortled to himself and opened the shower door and stepped over in front of the mirror. Grabbing a towel, he wiped the steam off it and giggled with delight at his reflection.

With alarm he heard a muffled guffaw from the direction of the door. He was not alone.


	6. Chapter 6

Them PT2

Rose had awoken and found herself alone in the huge bed. A sharp stab of something – was it fear? - pierced her chest as she sat up suddenly and searched the room for him. She heard the shower running and realised with relief that he hadn't run away from her, at least not yet. She fell back into the pillow and and sighed deeply. One thing was clear, although she carried a mountain of doubt in her heart, she did care for him. She rolled out of bed and put on the dressing gown she had cast aside hours earlier. Maybe she could sneak in and use the toilet before he got out of the shower. She saw that he'd left the door open, and steam was rolling out. She'd have to warn him about that, Jackie could easily stop in to check on them, and one thing she didn't need to hear was her mum going on and on about having a little consideration when using the loo.

As she peered through the door she clapped her hands over her mouth in an unsuccessful attempt to squelch a peal of laughter at the sight that greeted her eyes. There he was, in all his skinny naked glory, giggling like a schoolboy at twin sets of shampoo horns he had fashioned upon his head.

He spun around to face her, simultaneously dropping the towel he had just used to wipe the mirror down over his privates, clutching with both hands as he turned. Rose in turn dropped her hands from her mouth and abandoned any attempt to suppress her laughter, leaning against the door frame for support as she howled gleefully. Tears were flowing from her eyes, which she wiped with one hand as she held her stomach with the other.

"It's good to see you smile, Rose Tyler!" He grinned maniacally and scuttled carefully but quickly backward into the shower and closed the shower door behind him. As threw the towel over the partition and proceeded to rinse the shampoo from his hair, he reflected that he hadn't really had much of a sense of modesty before now. Maybe he needed to work on that.

Meanwhile, Rose attended to her own needs and then exited, still giggling, and gently closed the door after herself. She quickly dumped the dressing gown and grabbed a light blue and white track suit and some knickers and socks her mum had provided. Quickly ripping off the tags, she got dressed and sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for him.

He emerged moments later, a towel wrapped around his waist. "I see you've gotten some clean clothes!" he observed. "Yeah," she grinned, "There's some for you, too in those bags over there." He walked to the bags and bent over as he started picking out things, giving her an excellent view of his towel-wrapped bum. "Are you checking out my bum, Rose Tyler?" She snorted, "It's not like there's anything else around here to look at! Besides, you're making it hard to ignore!"

"Good!" He turned and grinned that grin at her that always made her melt. "Nice to know I've still got it!" He pranced back to the bathroom and came back out a few minutes later dressed in a dark blue and white track suit which fitted rather loosely, but was presentable. "Rose, I think I need some help with my hair."

"Really?" She arched an eyebrow at this new facet of him. Early in this version of his Time Lord self, he'd indeed been vain about his hair, and asked her opinion of different styles before he settled on one, but had never asked for her help with it. She smiled inwardly as she realised she'd been thinking of them both as the same person. But were shades of Donna emerging in this one?

She jumped up and followed him into the bathroom. He sat down on the toilet seat and looked up at her expectantly. "What exactly do I use on this planet to make it look right? I mean, I had my own stuff on the TARDIS, but now I really don't have a clue." She thought over the items Jackie had dropped off and raised a finger, silently asking him to stay put for a moment, and ran out to the bags and came back with a tube in her hand.

"This ought to do it." She squeezed out some gel, rubbing her fingertips together to distribute the stuff, then lightly started playing with his still-damp hair. "Oooh... that's nice..." he murmured, "that's really quite nice, quite relaxing in fact." He started to close his eyes, but then he realised this position gave him an excellent view of Rose's bosoms, and decided to keep them open.

"Doctor, are you checking out my bosoms?"

"Well, it's not like there's anything else around here to look at. Besides, you're making them hard to ignore!"

He looked up at her with a fiendish smile, and she couldn't help but bend down and plant a peck on his lips. "Nice to know I've still got it!" she grinned, showing her tongue in that way he had always adored. They silently gazed into each other's eyes for a moment...

… At just that precise moment when the vibe between them was palpable and electric, Jackie Tyler knocked on the door and opened it. "Are you two up yet?" she called, "I'm just going down to get some breakfast, ya comin'?"


	7. Chapter 7

Rose PT4

Rose had been very, very close to outright snogging this man, whoever he was. Her mum had interrupted just in time. She was, in fact, famished, and she certainly wasn't ready for what had just come close to transpiring. "Yeah, we'll be right out, Mum!" She looked down at an obviously disappointed Doctor and said a little too brightly, "There you are, I think this will do for ya!" and turned on her heel and strode out of the bathroom, leaving him to contemplate his hair alone.

He gave a quick glance in the mirror, and did indeed like what he saw.

He stepped out to the bedroom as Jackie let herself in. She beamed at him. "Well, you sure didn't sleep as long as you did last time!"

"No," he stated, "Well, you know this half-human body just doesn't have all the built-in redundancies that a Time Lord body does, it's much simpler really, so I didn't need as much time to recover. It has its advantages and its disadvantages..." He considered going into more detail, but...

Jackie gave him a blank stare in return.

"Right-, well then, where are we going for breakfast?" he asked, giving his most charming smile.

She visibly brightened at that. ""Well, there's a dining-room down next to the lobby, we ate there last time..." she caught herself, remembering how miserable that breakfast had been, with Rose openly weeping much of the time..." but there's also a nice little place right down the street I thought we might try."

"Sounds good to me. Rose? Allons-y?"

Rose had been sitting on the bed, quietly observing the exchange between her mum and this Doctor. "Yeah, works fine for me." She got up and followed them out the door. He couldn't help but notice her lack of enthusiasm.

She was in turmoil. On one hand, she appreciated the gift she'd been given. Really, she did. But it was the way it had been given, without her consideration or consent, plus she hadn't had any time to really get to know this new Doctor. Already she was seeing nuances in his personality that hadn't been there before. She was so torn. She just didn't know what to think. Maybe she'd think better on a full stomach. But she doubted it. At the same time, she felt for this new person. He hadn't asked to be... well, not "born", exactly. "Created" would probably be the better term. But he _had_ been created, and had done exactly what he needed to do. He had destroyed the Daleks once and for all. He'd saved the Universes. And _how_ had he been rewarded? Why, he'd been dumped off on some planet in an alternate Universe with the original Doctor's cast-off companion. Shop-worn goods. That's all they were, he and she. Fulfilled their purpose, they had, and now they'd been cast away like so much garbage.

Well, she didn't know for sure if she loved him, but she certainly could identify with him.

It was a start.


	8. Chapter 8

TenPointFive PT 5

As they walked down the street to the little diner, the Doctor chatted away, as was his habit, about Scandinavian culture, and breakfast in particular. As he opened the door for the ladies he concluded, "...and I can't wait to have kulturmelk again, you'll love it Rose, it's a lot like buttermilk!"

She smiled up at him, it was sweet of him to still be thinking of things that would please her. The longer she was with him, the harder it was not to think of him as "The" Doctor, even with the new nuances of Donna.

He was pleased to see her responding to him as she always had. He knew they had to get some time alone to really sit down and talk things out, but he doubted it would be anytime soon. Jackie had indicated that a car would be arriving at the hotel for them in a couple of hours, they'd travel to the airport and board a zeppelin which would take them home to London, then they'd all drive to Pete and Jackie's mansion and get settled in. Then, maybe, they'd have some privacy.

Meanwhile, he ordered for all of them, since he (naturally!) spoke the language, and they soon had an assortment of bread, cereal, kulturmelk, cheese, cold meats, preserves, and tea in front of them. As they were all famished, conversation was sparse. He watched Rose out of the corner of his eye, as she did the same with him.

Jackie watched both of them. "At least poor Rose isn't hysterical this trip," she sighed to herself. Personally, she was happy with the way things worked out, hopefully her daughter and this new Doctor would settle down somewhat and stay relatively safe. She had talked with Pete already about getting the Doctor a job with Torchwood as soon as possible, preferably something not out in the field. He'd also need a proper place to stay, she no more wanted him underfoot than she figured he'd want to be underfoot. He – or at least his former selves - and she had never really seen eye-to-eye on things.

"So," she piped up, "I know it's a little soon and all, Doctor, but have you thought about a name yet? I mean, for the rest of the world to call you by?"

"Not really, Jackie. But it is a good question, I suppose I'll have to settle on something soon. I've usually used John Smith, but this is a new life, maybe I do need a new name. What do you think, Rose?"

"I think a new name would be great!" It might help her out, being able to think of him as something other than the Doctor. "Is there a Gallifreyan name that sounds English?"

"Hmm... not really... they sound reasonably close to Latin, but they're impossibly long." he frowned.

"Well, you could take one Gallifreyan name and break it up into three, yeah?" Rose asked.

"No, I'm afraid not," he laughed, "We're taking 40 or so syllables, even long, long Latin names don't really come close. Tell you what," he said, grinning slyly, "I'll let _you_ name me, Rose Tyler. Whatever you decide, I'll go by."

She considered it a moment, flattered and intimidated at the same time. This was an important decision, one he'd have to live with for the rest of his life, and he was entrusting it to her. "Alright," she decided, "but I'll need some time to get to know you better and give it proper consideration."

There, she'd said it. She really didn't know him yet, but she wanted to. Well, that was a good start, he thought to himself happily. He knew she was attracted to him, that much had been clear. She wasn't sure about him, but she had plenty of reasons not to be. Yet, she clearly wanted him in her life, at least in some way. The future looked bright.

"I think I'd like to get a pair of sunglasses before we leave here," he told her. "Would you help me pick them out?"


	9. Chapter 9

Them PT5

In the hotel gift shop they finally settled on a pair of Christian Dior replicas that Rose thought looked quite dashing. They then ran up to the room to pack their things up, the Doctor being quite careful with his suit. "I'm really going to miss the TARDIS wardrobe, you know," he said thoughtfully. "If I known we were going to be dropped off, I'd have packed some stuff up. You can't get suits like this anywhere."

"You must be sad," Rose said, "being trapped here with me. Never being able to travel through time and space again."

"Oh no, Rose, we're not trapped." He chuckled. "You have a bad habit of underestimating me sometimes, you know. Do you forget? I'm a genius!" He walked over to her, resting his hands on her shoulders. "I won't be Earth-bound any longer than I want to be."

"How?" she asked, incredulously, as her heart skipped a beat. "Without a TARDIS, how are you going to leave?"

"WE." he emphasized, to her delight. "We can leave as soon as I build a ship. We won't be able to travel through time, but we most certainly can and will travel through space, if that's what you want."

"YES!" she squealed, jumping and throwing her arms around him, nearly squeezing the breath out of him. He buried his face in her hair and breathed deeply while he hugged her. He thought a little sadly of his other self, out there alone. He knew Donna wouldn't be able to retain her Time Lord knowledge for long, and he knew what his – brother? - would be forced to do, either wipe her memory or let her die, and he knew the choice he'd make. He debated on when he would share these thoughts with Rose, and decided definitely not now.

"So," he said as he gently put her down, "I know we don't have much time right now to talk about this, but I want to be clear on something, and I want you to think about this _very_ carefully. I don't expect you to give me an answer right away, given all that's happened recently. What I want to know is, are you just going to be my friend and companion, or do you want something more?"

Her eyes filled, her breath caught in her throat, and she quietly - almost whispering - asked him, "What do _you_ want?" She braced herself for his answer.

"That's easy," he smiled and cupped her face in his hands, "I want you, Rose Tyler, any way I can have you. But take your time and think about it. I want whatever happens to be your choice, and not an impulsive one. I want you to be sure."

She smiled. "Alright, I'll think about it."

"You've got a lot to think about, and we'll have a lot to talk about. So don't rush it, take your time." He kissed the top of her head.

Just then Jackie knocked and opened the door between their rooms. "The car's here!" she exclaimed, "C'mon, let's get the bloody hell out of this place!"


	10. Chapter 10

Rose PT6

Rose simply couldn't keep a smile off her face during the limo ride to the airport. Maybe things were going to work out, after all. She would just treat this as any other regeneration, same man, just a little bit different. This definitely was her Doctor. They kept glancing at each other and grinning. Jackie noted this as she sat across from them and pretended to read a magazine, and wondered what could possibly have transpired in the few minutes she left them alone to bring such a change over them. "I'll bet they had a quickie," she thought. She wasn't quite sure how she felt about that. Her daughter was an adult, after all, and Jackie wanted this relationship to work out for her, her poor girl had just been through so much pain and angst since she'd become trapped here all that time ago, and now here she was all over again, but this time not by accident, nor by her own choice. It was good to see her happy, but she'd have to talk to this Doctor and make sure what his intentions were toward her daughter. This one had better not run away, she thought, or old age wouldn't be an issue for him once Jackie Tyler found him.

Rose, meanwhile, was thinking about a name. She considered all the names she thought she'd like to name her children some day, and discarded those as possibilities. She wanted to pick a first name that would reflect what he was to her – her gift. Not cute, not trendy, a proper name. She remembered one that stood out when a friend of hers was pregnant and they'd been researching names on the Internet. "Jonathan." She said out loud, smiling and meeting his eyes, "You're Jonathan. My gift from God."

"Jon-a-than," he said slowly, letting the syllables roll off his tongue. "I like it. Better than plain old John Smith, but I can still be Jon for short, and it feels familiar. Jonathan I am. Your gift." He winked at her and grinned. This was too much for Jackie.

"Oh, would you two wait until you get some alone time? My God, all the syrup in the air is making me feel sticky!"

"Oi! Jackie's feeling sticky! Makes me want pancakes, but I guess I'll have to settle for you, Rose Tyler!" He leaned over and quite purposefully snogged Rose, who snogged him right back in spite of laughing the entire time. At this, Jackie rolled up her magazine and proceeded to whack him repeatedly with it.

"That's enough of that! Off my daughter, if you please!"

Jonathan obediently resumed his seat with a silly grin while Jackie tried – rather unsuccessfully – to glare at him. "Once you two get places of your own, there'll be plenty of time for that! Remember," she lectured, "we have a toddler at home!"

"Yes, Mum." Rose replied primly, trying not to laugh. Well, that wasn't quite how she had imagined their first proper kiss would be, this Doctor – Jonathan, she corrected herself – was definitely less inhibited than his other self. And happier. She couldn't quite find the words to describe it, but one of the things that had drawn her so to Jon's predecessor was the air of sadness that was ever present, even when he seemed otherwise happy. There still was a hint of sadness when she looked in Jon's eyes, but it was something she had to search for, it didn't permeate his whole being. She'd have to ask him about that. Meanwhile, her spirit was warm with the happiness you feel when you find out someone you love loves you, too.


	11. Chapter 11

TenPointFivePT6

"So, what about the rest of my name?"

"I'm still working on that," she said. "I have some names in mind, but I want to think them over some more. But you're still going to be a doctor. What would you like to be a doctor of?" she teased. "We'll need to get you a diploma."

At that point they turned into the airport and the driver took them to a terminal where they got out and were met by Pete, who was holding Tony in his arms. Jackie squealed with delight and ran to embrace her family while Rose and Jonathan waited patiently. "How's my big boy?" Jackie cooed to her son, after thoroughly snogging Pete. Pete handed Tony off to her, kissed her once more, and ambled over to Rose and Jon.

"Rose," he smiled as he held her tight. "I'm so glad you're alright, and you're back with us. I know it isn't what you expected," he said gently, "but your Mum and I are thrilled."

"I know, Dad," Rose smiled, "and you don't have to worry about me, I think everything's going to be OK. Let me introduce you to Jonathan, the rest of his name is a bit up in the air right now."

Pete shook Jon's hand vigorously. "Doctor," he grinned, "it's good to see you again – Jacks told me a bit about you already."

"I expected as much, Pete."

"So follow me, we've got a zeppelin right outside, ready to go."

"Why didn't you bring the Torchwood jet, Dad?" Rose asked as they walked along.

"I wanted to be the one to debrief all of you, and the zeppelin will give me time to do that and have everything ready when we get back to London."

"Everything being what?" Jonathan asked a bit suspiciously. He had a healthy distrust of anything Torchwood, even if Pete was in charge.

"Well, we're going to have have identification prepared for you, plus a plausible back story to explain your existence. Also, knowing your history with Jacks, we figured you might want your own place to live." Pete gave him an understanding wink.

"Very considerate of you," Jon acknowledged. "So, am I to assume I'll be a guest there, or a prisoner?"

"Oh, you're free to come and go as you please." Pete assured him. "And the place is yours, you won't be a guest. It's the least we could do for the man that saved the Universes."

"Why thank you, Pete!" Jon nodded and smiled, but thought to himself that he'd probably be monitored closely but discretely.

They boarded the zeppelin. It was a luxury ship, sumptuously furnished and inviting.

"Doctor, my office is over this way, if you'd come with me please." Pete asked, but his manner said that this was not a request. Jonathan sighed to himself and followed. Well, best to get the interrogation over with. Pete closed the door behind in and motioned for Jon to sit down. Pete walked around to the other side of his desk and flipped a switch. He recorded his name and title, the date and time, and that the interview was with The Doctor regarding recent extra-terrestrial incidents involving the Cybermen and the Daleks.

"Doctor, in your own words, please recount the events that led up to your being here."

Jonathan sighed deeply. This was going to be a long day.

Meanwhile, after Jackie finished fussing over Tony and assuring herself that he was none the worse for her being gone, she got him settled in front of a telly watching one of his favorite movies. Then she turned to Rose. At last she was going to get to spend some time with her daughter.

"OK Rose Marion Tyler, it's time to let your old mum know what is going on!"

"What do you mean, Mum?" Rose was mystified.

"Oh come on! This is your mother talking. I know when somethin's up! All the way back from the bay you were mad and sad and silent, you were nice to that guy in there," gesturing toward Pete's office, "but it was obvious you didn't wanna to be here, and even all through breakfast you were just puttin' up with him. Then I leave the two of you alone for 15 minutes so I could pack, and I come back and you're all smiles and laughter and happy as a cat with a canary. What happened?"

"Well..." Rose wasn't ready to tell her mum that they'd be traveling again. She tried to think of a plausible story to satisfy her without letting the cat out of the bag.

"Rose! Did you _shag_ him!?"

Rose stared at her mum for a moment, dumbfounded. For an instant it occurred to her that shagging _would_ be a plausible story... but no, she couldn't do that. Instead she burst into peals of laughter.

"_MUM!!!_" she laughed, "You have such a dirty mind. We didn't do any such thing!"

"Well then, out wi' it! What happened?"

Rose thought a moment, and then said simply, "He told me something that convinced me that he _is_ **my** Doctor."

"Well what did he say?" Jackie insisted. This sounded juicy indeed.

"I'm sorry, Mum, it's private."

_______________________________________________

After three hours of Pete questioning him on every last detail of what he could remember of his latest – and ironically, first – adventure, he and Jon broke for lunch. "I still need to talk with you more," Pete told him, "but I want to speak with Rose first."

"Of course." Jon smiled. Like any good operative, Pete would check his story. Being that Rose was more or less involved in this adventure from the beginning, he figured Pete would be busy with her all afternoon. He exhaled with relief and headed toward the kitchen. Now he could relax a bit with some tea and perhaps a sandwich...

… and then around the corner came Jackie Tyler. "Doctor!" she exclaimed, "I wanna talk with you!"

Uh-oh. What did Rose tell her?


	12. Chapter 12

Them PT6

Jackie Tyler was not one to let a daughter's discretion stand in the way of finding out what was going on with her. She took a calculated risk. "Before you go runnin' off," (where, she had no idea, and certainly not a thought about "where" being extra-terrestrial, but she did know that he liked to run) "I wanna know exactly what your intentions are toward my daughter!" She emphasized her point with a finger poking – no, pounding – him in the chest. With sharp nails. Ouch.

"Jackie!" he gushed, catching her hand in his and lifting it to his lips for an elegant, gentlemanly kiss, "I am _so_ glad I ran into you, I was just going to look for you, as a matter of fact!" (In order to avoid her, but it was at least half true...) "I need your advice." He took her arm and folded it under his as he guided her to the kitchen.

"Oh, now I _know_ you're up to no good! What do you take me for, an idiot?"

"Absolutely not!" He feigned his best hurt look. He wasn't one to give up easily. "You do know your daughter better than anyone, and I truly need some help."

"Alright," she said, not at all convinced, but determined to see wherever this was going. "what is it you need help with?"

He sat her down at the table and grasped her hands. "Well, you know I'm only half Time Lord."

"Yeah."

"And I don't have a TARDIS anymore."

"Yeah."

"So I can't take Rose traveling through time and space anymore."

"Yeah." She sounded a bit relieved there, he noted. So Rose apparently had not told her he intended to take her traveling again.

"Well," and here he looked down and sighed heavily, "I know she really wants to. See, the thing is," he sighed again, "I reminded her of who I am, and," another heavy sigh, " I think she took it a bit too literally." He lifted his eyes and looked into Jackie's. "I think she thinks things will go back to the way they were, and we'll go traveling through time and space again."

"Well she should know better than that!" Jackie retorted. "She knows you don't have a TARDIS anymore!"

"Wellll... yeah... but...I _am_ a genius and... I kinda played that up to her... and..."

"And now she thinks you can take her traveling through time and space again." Jackie finished for him, patting his hand and totally buying it now.

"I think so." He sure hoped he wouldn't be found out. Jackie's manicured nails really were sharp, he could just imagine the damage they could do, and he couldn't regenerate anymore...

"Well, that does put you in a bit of a spot, doesn't it? What are you gonna do about it?"

"Well, I _can_ build a ship that can travel through space, in fact I hope to help Torchwood out in that way."

"Really?"

"Yeah." He sighed again, furrowing his brow and giving Jackie his best anxious look. "Do you think traveling through space would be enough for her, Jackie?"

"Well it had better be! It's a lot more than most girls have to look forward to! She'll just have to accept it," Jackie pronounced.

"So I have your support then? Because I truly do love your daughter, Jackie, and I want to make her happy."

"I'll have a talk with her." Jackie promised. "Don't you worry about it."

At about that time, Rose, who had been nearby watching a movie with Tony, heard their hushed voices and decided to grab some lunch. As she walked into the kitchen area her Mum accosted her on her way out and whispered,"You stick with this one Rose, no matter what. He's a keeper!"

Rose continued into the kitchen slightly stunned. She said to Jon, "What was that about with me Mum?"

His voice dropped an octave as he mugged (she loved it when he did that), "Me being a genius."


	13. Chapter 13

Rose PT7

After catching up with each other at lunch, it was Rose's turn in Pete's office. Much of her adventure he already knew of, as he had also been intimately involved with the development and use of the Dimension Cannon. He spent most of his time with Rose going over the Daleks and the reality Bomb, and the new Doctor. Finally, he decided to conclude.

"So, do you think he's dangerous?" Pete asked her.

"No, of course not!" she retorted. "He saved us all, he saved us from the Daleks once and for all. He's a hero!"

"He's killed the Daleks before hasn't he? I mean, in previous incarnations?"

"Yes," Rose said, "What are you getting at?"

Pete replied, "As far as I can tell, no matter how many times he kills them or in how many universes, they always seem to come back."

"Yeah," Rose admitted, "But these have to be the last of them."

"Why do you think that?" Pete asked.

"I dunno," Rose replied. "I just do. I mean, how many times can they possibly come back?"

"That's what worries me," Pete said, "He thinks they're dead, but they just keep coming back. It seems to me that there are some things even he doesn't know about, and we need to be prepared for them, especially since he's here, on this planet, in this universe."

"You mean you think he'll attract them?"

"Perhaps. You have to admit, they do seem to have a 'thing' for him. He's their sworn enemy."

"Dad, I'm sure these are the last of them. Nothing could've survived the explosion he initiated."

"I hope, for all our sakes, that you're right about that, Rose."

"Me too."

"So, enough debriefing. What are your plans for the future?"

Rose laughed, "Dad, I'm only just getting to know this one, and he's asked me to take my time before coming to a decision. So I will."

"So your decision, as you put it, revolves around him?"

"Well, yeah."

"Have you thought about going on without him?"

Rose looked shocked. "Why would I want to do that? I finally have the man of my dreams, and apparently he wants to spend the rest of his life with me. What, do you think I'm a nutter?"

"Rose," her Dad cautioned, "I'm not trying to tell you what to do, I just want you to realise that he isn't your only choice. This man is mortal now, so you and he tell me, he can't protect you as he once did. He's not a Time Lord anymore. Maybe you should think about settling down now."

Rose stared at Pete for a moment, trying to figure out where this was coming from. Did Jonathan tell him they were planning to travel?

"Dad," Rose said carefully, "even if he weren't with me, I would never be happy bound to this Earth. After all I've seen and been, there's just too much out there for me to 'settle down' here on this planet. There's a whole universe out there to be explored, and they know about us now. They'll surely come exploring here, and we need to be ready. I'll not sit and wait and see what they offer us, we need to get out there ourselves and make sure they all know that this planet is defended. And we need to develop that defense. We can't do that sitting here on our hands. Of anyone else on this planet, the Doctor and I have the most experience with alien cultures. We are the logical choice to go out there and investigate what we need to be prepared for. There's no way 'round it."

Pete gazed at her, his "daughter" for a few moments before speaking. He knew she was right, but he had promised Jackie to try to keep the two of them Earth-bound. That obviously wasn't going to happen.

"When are you going to tell your Mum?" he asked.


	14. Chapter 14

TenPointFive PT7

While Rose spent the afternoon with Pete in his office, Jon spent some time with Tony and Jackie, he particularly enjoyed watching a movie with the little boy. "Children are so special, "he mused as he sat on the floor beside Tony, "They have no pre-conceived ideas of how things are supposed to be, they just take things as they come." Tony looked up at him and grinned at this.

"You're not having any problems with Rose are you?" Jackie asked from her seat on the couch.

"Oh no, things are just fine. I was just missing having a child around."

"You've had kids?" Jackie asked, wide-eyed, "Somehow I just can't picture it."

"Oh yes, I've been married, had children, and grandchildren. My granddaughter used to travel with me, she's been to Earth... I mean..." he stopped lamely, he hadn't really meant to share that much, he didn't want to bring up his past right now, especially with Jackie.

"S'alright luv, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." Jackie could see he regretted his disclosure. "But I'm glad you did tell me that. Makes you seem more like a normal bloke, you know." She smiled at him.

"Thank you, Jackie." He was relieved. Tony stood up, and having lost interest in the video, started playing with Jon's hair. He was fascinated with it. Jon tilted his head obligingly. "There you go Tony, just don't pull any of it out, your sister loves it and she'd be a bit cross with you if you did."

"Yes I would!" Rose smiled from the doorway. She'd been standing there a moment enjoying the interaction of Jon with her family. Just then her cell phone rang. She frowned as she looked at it, it was that series of numbers again. "I've never seen this number before, but it came up yesterday afternoon, too."

"Well answer it and see who it is. Maybe it's just a wrong number. You'd be doing them a favor letting them know," Jackie offered.

Rose flipped the phone open. "Hello? Hello?" She paused, then snapped it shut. "Too late, they hung up." She checked her history. "They called at the same time yesterday, 5:30."

"Really?" Jon said, "Let me see that." He looked at the number, and tried to call it. All he got were those annoying tones and a message that the number could not be reached. He closed the phone and handed it back to Rose. "Next time he calls, answer it."

"He?"

"My brother. He must have found a wormhole or something he could get a signal through. Let's see what he has to say."

"Why do you think it's him?"

"One, that number happens to be his Gallifreyan date of birth. Two, the time, 5:30. What did I tell you to do when we get separated?"

"Always wait five and a half hours," they said together.

Rose's golden brown eyes darkened a bit. She handed the phone back to Jon. "Here, you can keep it, if it rings again tomorrow, you answer it. I really don't want to talk to him." She turned and started walking away. "I've got to talk to Dad some more."

Jon and Jackie watched her walk away. "Aren't you gonna go after her?" Jackie asked him.

"No, this is something she needs to come to terms with herself, Jackie." He looked thoughtful. "Hopefully my brother just wants to check in and make sure we're alright." But he had a nagging feeling he wanted to tell them about Donna.

Pete appeared in the doorway. "The air currents have been in our favor and we'll be landing in an hour or so. If I were you I'd grab a quick bit of dinner. Make sure you get strapped in when I call."


	15. Chapter 15

Them PT7

After the zeppelin landed they all piled into a limo and traveled to Pete's mansion. "I thought you two could stay here tonight, then in the morning we'll go to Torchwood to get your ID done and get other things sorted out. That OK with you?"

Rose looked at Jon questioningly. He responded, "That's fine with me, Pete. Hopefully we'll have a more pleasant evening than we did the last time I was here."

"No doubt!" Rose grinned.

As they took their few things upstairs Pete directed Jon to the room next to Rose's. "You can sleep wherever you like," he said with a wink, "but Jacks and I thought we'd give you the use of Mickey's old room."

"Thanks, that's just great." Jon replied without enthusiasm. Mickey's old room, eh? Right next to Rose's? He couldn't help but bristle just a bit. Pete left to attend to his family, and Rose popped in. She noticed the sour look on his face and stuck the tip of her tongue out at him. "Smile," she said. "Tomorrow you'll be sleeping in your own room, in your own house."

"It wasn't formerly Mickey's house by any chance?"

"No, it actually belonged to one of Pete's former colleagues who was killed by the Cybermen."

She came in and sat down on the bed. "Finally, alone for a little while."

He sat down next to her. "So," he started, "You're still angry with him, yeah?"

She knew exactly who he meant. "Yeah."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Not really."

"I would."

"Why?"

"Because I am him and he is me."

"Don't be daft, you are not! You were just created a few days ago!"

"But up until that point, I was him. When he sent his regeneration energy into me, he gave me all his memories, all his experiences, his pain, his anger, his loves, his joys, his sorrows. I am him. Only when I was actually created did we diverge. Even so, Rose, for all intents and purposes, it was just as much me who left you here as he. I accept full responsibility for it."

"So what do you want me to say?"

"I want you to talk to me just as you would him. Go ahead, ask away. I know you have anger, and questions. Fire away."

She looked at him. She wasn't buying it. She shrugged. "I'm sorry, but I just can't seem to come up with anything."

He really wanted to get this over with before his brother called the next evening. Perhaps coming at it through a different angle...

"Alright then, forget that." He took her hands in his. "I'd like to take you through a journey of my life. Are you up for it?"

"What do you mean exactly?"

"Well, if you're going to make an informed decision about what our relationship is to be in the future, it would be helpful to know my past."

"I already know your past, at least as much as I need to."

"No, you don't. I've told you so very little of myself. I'm now ready to share, just as you've always wanted me to."

That was an offer she couldn't resist. "What do I do?"

"Not much. Just sit here with me. I'm going to let you into my mind. No closed doors. You can go anywhere you want."

"Are you going to be in my mind, too?"

"Only if you want me there. Do you?"

She thought about it. This was a tremendous demonstration of trust on his part. She really should reciprocate. "OK."

"If you don't want me to go somewhere, just picture a closed door, and I won't open it."

"Alright."

He placed her hand on his cheek, as he cupped hers. "Now close your eyes and think of me. If you want to stop, just say so."

He opened his mind to her. He took her back to the beginning, to his youth. To his very first memory.


	16. Chapter 16

Rose PT8

Rose gasped. She felt herself coming into being just as he had. She was in some structure – was it a loom? She grew up with him, bullied and unspectacular. She looked into the Untempered Schism with him and felt a resonating similarity with... the Bad Wolf? Conflicts arose with the other Time Lords. Exile. Susan. Ian. Barbara. Lost. Poisoned. Ben. Polly. Jamie. She traveled with him at a dizzying rate, through lives, companions, losses, victories, enemies, friends. Conflict with the Time Lords again. Exile again, blocked memories. Life on Earth. Meeting other incarnations, conflict. Liz, Jo, Mike and... Sarah Jane... recurring enemies. The Master. Falling. The Watcher... regeneration. Daleks, the Master, companions found and lost, and regenerations in seemingly (to Rose) unending occurrences. Finally, the Last Great Time War. The Medusa Cascade. Horror, horror, horror at what he has done. Everyone he has known and loved is lost. But the rest of the Universe is now safe. He can go and die now. He wills himself to, but somehow he regenerates. Curses! He doesn't want to be alive. He senses a foreboding in his future, something he cannot escape, but must. He wanders, finds himself back on Earth, and encounters a brave young human who somehow captures his interest. He feels the darkness descending, getting closer. His next regeneration makes him even more aware of it. He senses it is interested in Rose. He has to find a way to keep her safe. He can't lose her, if he does he thinks he'll finally lose his mind for sure.

They open their eyes, and look upon each other. Tears are streaming down their faces. "I'm so sorry," Rose sobs. "I had no idea how bad it truly was for you, all those centuries."

"Now do you understand, Rose? I – he – did not throw you away like garbage. He cast you away to safety. He senses darkness in his future and wants to protect you from it. I am here to protect you just as much as you are here to save me. He loves you more than he can tell you."

"I still don't want to talk to him, at least not yet. I just can't. I'm sorry. Tell him I'm sorry." She fled the room.

He let her go, got undressed, pulled back the covers, and laid back on his pillows. There were still approximately 20 hours until the call would come. Perhaps by then she could digest all she'd just experienced, and find it in her heart to forgive his brother. It couldn't be easy for such a young one as she to absorb all that he'd gone through. She'd made an important step, though. She was perhaps the most resilient human he'd ever encountered. The heart of a lion coupled with the soul and beauty of an angel. His heart swelled as he thought of her. She'd come so far from the simple shop girl he'd once rescued. He smiled to himself as he relived the memories of the experiences they'd shared. He fell asleep dreaming of her.

She, meanwhile, had retreated to her own room next door, and had clutched her pillows and wept into them. She felt guilty and scared. She had seen the enormity of what he had committed, and finally understood the pathos in his spirit. As a naive girl, she had assumed she could love his fears and nightmares away. Now she realised that it would take more than just love to wash those sins away. More than she was capable of, certainly. He was lost to her forever. He always had been, right from the start.

And yet, there was a growing belief within her, something that she could not quite define. Something that told her that in some impossible way, she would be his salvation again, someday. She tried to dismiss it as a romantic schoolgirl dream, tried to ignore it, but there it was, knocking at the core of her being, insisting that all was not lost.

She knew one thing. She didn't want to talk to him until she could get her emotions under control. Right now she was a wreck. Fortunately, the cure was sleeping right next door.


	17. Chapter 17

TenPointFive PT8

He woke up the next morning feeling tired, but good. He became conscious of breathing next to him. Rose had snuck in during the night and was sleeping soundly next to him. He gently left the bed to take care of necessary duties, then returned. He slid back under the covers, then gently, under his breath, he said, "Rose." It worked. Her eyelids fluttered, she yawned and moved closer. He wrapped himself around her and kissed her forehead and repeated, under his breath, "Rose."

She was awake. "Jon?"

He kissed her tenderly. "Good morning, my angel."

She smiled sleepily up at him. "What time is it?"

"Not quite 6 o'clock."

"Too early." She snuggled into him. He inhaled deeply. She was ovulating. Drat. She started nibbling his ear and whispered wickedly, "Something more."

He knew exactly what she meant. "Rose, we can't right now, unless you want to add motherhood to your repertoire."

She rolled over, opened a drawer in the nightstand, and produced a cellophane-wrapped condom. How did she know that was there, in Mickey's former room?

She smiled at his consternation. "I put them there last night when I came in."

"Oh. What if it breaks?"

"Then it breaks. I've waited too long, I'm not waitin' any longer." With that, she reached down and made her intentions clear by unwrapping and putting it on for him.

"You're sure about this?" he squeaked, just for convention's sake, as her intentions were crystal clear.

"Yep." She emphasized the 'p'. Then she climbed on top of him and eliminated any doubt. At the moment of initial penetration they looked into each other's eyes and murmured huskily, "I love you." That was the last coherent thing they said for the next hour.

It did break. They didn't care.


	18. Chapter 18

Them PT 8

They got up, they showered (which took an inordinately long time as they spent more time getting to know one another than they did actually cleaning up) and as he prepared to pick up a razor Rose stopped him. He hadn't shaved since they'd been dropped off, and his stubble was getting quite pronounced and itchy. "Keep the beard, it looks fantastic on you." How could he argue with that? He looked in the mirror, and it did give him a kind of scruffy chic. When they left the bathroom they found fresh clothes had been deposited on the bed for them. "Wow, almost like the TARDIS," they laughed, just a bit sadly. They went downstairs to breakfast and found Pete, Jackie, and Tony waiting for them.

"See there, Pete, those old trousers of yours don't look too bad on him." Pete had put on a little bit of weight and Jackie had been reluctant to let his old clothes go. She just couldn't quite adjust to being rich, although she certainly was trying – and doing a pretty fair job of it, Pete thought.

"We're definitely going to have to do some shopping today," Rose laughed.

"Shopping? Oh what fun! When can we start?" When did he look forward so much to shopping? Granted, he'd always enjoyed doing a bit of browsing here and there on various planets as he was picking up necessary items but he'd never shopped just for the sake of shopping before, unlike his companions. Oh well, he reminded himself, in this case clothes were very necessary. Something about wearing Pete's trousers just creeped him out a bit.

Meanwhile Jackie took in her daughter's appearance. She positively glowed with happiness. There was no doubt in Jackie's mind what had occurred to put her in that state. Rose leaned down and hugged her.

"Thanks for the clothes, Mum."

"You're welcome, sweetheart. I figured I'd better scrounge up some of your old things, you weren't exactly thinking ahead last night." She smirked. "I certainly hope you used protection!"

"_Mum!_" Rose blushed.

Jonathan just couldn't help himself. He sat down directly across from Jackie and placed his elbows on the table and his face between his hands and pronounced, "We did. It broke." He had emphasized it, "_bro – kuh_." He gave her his most wicked grin, and thoroughly enjoyed the shock that spread across Jackie's features.

"_Jon!_"Rose was aghast. What was she going to do with these two?

"Blimey! Rose, do you realise that's how you were conceived? I'm _not_ ready to be a grandmother yet! Why, your brother's still a toddler!" Jackie glared at Jon, who had sat back and was taking it all in, enjoying himself immensely.

Pete stepped in quickly, "Let's get to Torchwood and finish debriefing, get your ID and stuff together, then you two can go out and shop." Pete smiled as he gazed at his "daughter". He'd been reluctant when she and Jackie had become trapped here initially to adopt her, but he done it to make their lives easier, and he had grown to love her just as much as if he were indeed her father, which technically he wasn't, but that no longer mattered to him. A grandson or granddaughter would be perfect to have around so that Tony could have a playmate. It might even keep Rose grounded.

As they entered Torchwood Headquarters, Rose and Jon could feel all the curious glances coming their way. It had been generally known that when Rose left on her mission, she did not plan on coming back. Yet here she was, looking radiantly happy, and with a man accompanying her who was rumoured to be "The Doctor".

They sat down in Pete's office. "We need to give you a full name, Jon, as well as a history. What are your thoughts on that? What would you be comfortable with?"

Jon looked at Rose. "Well?"

"What do you think of a hyphenated last name? I can't decide which I like better, Noble or Storm, so I thought we'd put them together."

He smiled. "Jonathan Noble-Storm. I do like it, Rose. I couldn't have done better myself."

"_Doctor_ Jonathan Noble-Storm," she corrected. "But Doctor of what?"

"Anything. Everything. I am, after all, a genius."

"Oh well, mustn't forget that – not that you'd ever let us." She snorted and rolled her eyes.

Pete just shook his head. Nope, no difference between this Doctor and the former one he'd known, not that he could see.

"Well, how about biomolecular physics, quantum mechanics, and astrophysics?"

Pete blinked. "_All_ of them?"

Well yeah, after all..."

"...You _are_ a genius..." they finished for him.

He grinned broadly. "Now you're getting it."


	19. Chapter 19

Rose PT9

While an assistant was put in charge of putting Jon's identity together, the three of them hashed out what their relationship with Torchwood would be. Pete thought they should teach and train the staff and recruits on what was out there and how to deal with it. Jon and Rose agree that initially, that should be their roles, but that they also needed to be involved in research and development of spacecraft, weaponry, extra-terrestrial communications, and diplomacy. Jon's one overriding condition was simple – once there was a fleet of 10 spacecraft, he and Rose would be given one of their own.

Pete objected, "We need the two of you here!"

"Yes, we are needed here, but we are needed much worse out there. Pete, you have no idea what's out there, and you've attracted attention. I imagine, the universes being so similar, that there is some version of the Shadow Proclamation in this universe. I need to get a copy of that document so we can learn it, and abide by it, or hide from it, whatever the case may be. I need to be out there, and I need Rose with me." Jon squeezed her hand.

Pete looked at Rose. "If you'd told your Mum that, I'd have heard about it by now. When do you plan on telling her? She's really hoping you'll settle down."

"I've already let the cat out of the bag, so to speak," Jon offered. "She seems OK with it, if it will make Rose happy."

"Really?" Pete looked flabbergasted. This man must be one hell of a diplomat if he could get Jackie to accept that her daughter would be traveling again. And Jacks hadn't uttered a word to him about it.

Rose grinned at Jon. He never ceased to surprise her. When they got some more alone time, she was going to show and tell him just how perfectly happy she was with him. Meanwhile, they had other things to accomplish together.

"So why don't we go out, get some lunch, and do some shopping while you get stuff together for us, Dad?"

"Right. I'll see the two of you back here around 3, yeah? And then I'll take you out to your new home."

"Agreed." Rose got up, took Jon's hand, and guided him down a hallway. "First stop, my office."

"You have an office?" he asked.

"Of course, silly, I had to work out of something."

"Somehow I just can't see you sitting behind a desk."

Halfway down the hall Jon stopped and said, "Wait, there's something I forgot to tell Pete, I'll just be a sec!" He ran back up and ducked into Pete's office as she waited, and returned a minute or so later. Rose gave him a look, wondering what he had been up to, then resumed their walk down the hall. She stopped at a door, looked into an optical scanner, and the door unlocked. She opened it and stepped in. Everything was just as she'd left it. She walked over, grabbed her purse, "Never thought I need this again," she mused, and turned and faced Jon. He looked around. "It's pretty spartan."

She shrugged. "I wasn't planning on being here any longer than I had to be. Didn't see the need to decorate."

"I see."

"Let's go." She smiled, grabbing a hat and some sunglasses. "We have some serious shopping to do."


	20. Chapter 20

TenPointFive PT9

They decided to visit a nice pub near Henrik's. They studiously avoided talking about the upcoming call. Instead, they chatted about clothes and food while they ate. Jon thought that banoffee pie never tasted quite so good before. As a half-human, his taste buds were now a little less about analysis and more about pure enjoyment.

They then went to Henrik's shopping for clothes. He needed everything. Rose bought him underwear even though he insisted he _didn't_ need it. Some suits, although they both avoided brown pin-stripe. Casual wear, polo necks (Rose promised him he'd need them), vests, dungarees, and of course, trainers. By the time they were finished with him, they had quite an assortment. Unlike most men, Jon seemed to enjoy shopping, and even had good taste. He insisted they do some shopping for Rose as well, and she found herself with a somewhat more formal and varied wardrobe than she had before, but one she liked nonetheless. She looked teasingly over to the Maternity section. "Should we go over there?"

"Too soon to tell just yet." He smiled. "You won't need them for awhile anyway, even if you are."

Rose arranged for the purchases to be delivered to Jon's new home, and they headed out the doors to return to Torchwood. As they did, they were greeted by paparazzi. Word had gotten out that the Vitex heiress was seen buying gifts for a man who appeared to be her beau, and naturally the photographers were waiting. Jon grabbed her hand and said, "Run!" and they retreated hastily back into Henrik's and ran for the basement. Jon produced her cell phone and she called Pete. "I'll meet you in the parking garage," he promised, and they hung out in a stairwell and waited, with Jon watching through the window in one of the stairwell doors that opened into the garage. Once they spotted the limo they ran quickly to it and were able to exit Henrik's unscathed.

"Is shopping always this exciting?" Jon asked.

"I was hoping since they hadn't seen me in awhile, they'd be elsewhere." Rose apologized.

"That's why we picked the house we did for you," Pete explained. "Top security system, it belonged to Mr. Crane, John Lumic's right-hand man. No one will bother you there."

It was about a half-hour's drive outside of London, and only about a 10 minute drive from Pete's home. During the drive Pete handed over to Jon a thick manila envelope. "You'll find all the ID you'll need, a driver's license (you do know how to drive, don't you?)," Pete asked, glancing at Jon. "Of course!" Jon scoffed, I used to have an auto of my own when I was exiled here – I mean, on the other Earth." Pete continued, "A passport, your Doctorates," he couldn't help rolling his eyes a bit when he said this, "... and one other item." Rose wondered what that item might be, but Pete was ignoring her and looking steadily at Jon.

"Thank you, Pete." Jon said sincerely.

"Here we are." Pete announced, as the car slowed and turned into a stone drive with a formidable looking set of gates. "The remote is in the envelope," he advised Jon. Jon rummaged through it, picked out one small coin-sized envelope winked at Pete, and placed it in his breast pocket. Then he pulled out the remote, glanced at it, and aimed it toward the front of the limo and clicked the button. The gates slid open and the limo pulled through. Another click, and they slid shut, and the car continued up the drive and into the carport, which bridged the side of the house and the garage.

"This is the servants' entrance" Pete explained, "but it's closest to the control room where the security system is located, I'll give you a quick run-through of it, but all the documentation is in the envelope."

As Pete went over the security system with Jon, Rose wandered through the lower level of the house. Mr. Crane had a small laboratory. Jon will enjoy that, she thought happily. Next to the laboratory was a spacious office, then adjoining that was the master bedroom. That office would make a splendid nursery, she smiled to herself. She walked into the bedroom and froze. She couldn't believe what she saw. "Jon, I think you should see this!" she called. "Just a minute" he responded. "No, _JON! NOW!_"

Jon and Pete came running. As they entered the room and saw what she was looking at, they both stopped dead in their tracks and stared.

"I don't believe it!" Pete exclaimed furiously. "One of the most sophisticated security systems in existence, and some kids manage to break in undetected and do this!"

"No, Pete," Jon advised. "No kids did this."

Sprayed across the wall above the king-sized bed, in a bright, cheerful pink color, were the words:

"_BAD WOLF_"


	21. Chapter 21

Them PT9

"What do you think it means?" Rose asked Jon.

"I dunno, you tell me. You are – or at least were – the Bad Wolf. The last time I saw these words something bad was about to happen."

Pete looked at him sharply. "When was that?"

"It was right before the events leading up to the Reality Bomb, and right after Donna won over the influence of a Time Beetle," Jon looked at Rose, "with your help."

"Yeah," Rose agreed, "but this doesn't feel like a warning to me. The first time I saw these words, I had planted them to encourage myself to find a way to help you."

"You saved my life," Jon agreed, "and it nearly cost you yours, not to mention it cost me a regeneration."

"Yeah, but better regenerated than killed by Daleks."

"Agreed."

"I'm sure I planted the ones you and Donna saw to let you know I was coming back to you, as well as to make sure you took the warning about the darkness seriously. But this looks and feels different."

"It does," Jon agreed. "Maybe it will tell you something if you touch it."

Under Jon and Pete's watchful eyes, Rose climbed upon the bed and stood in front of the wall, placing her hands on the letters and leaning forward so her cheek was against them. She closed her eyes and whispered, "Tell me."

As the two men looked on in fascination, and a little alarm (Jon had to grab Pete's arm to urge him to stay back), the letters evaporated into a soft, shimmering golden fog which slowly settled upon Rose. She stood up straight, then turned and sat down on the edge of the bed, facing them. Slowly a smile stole across her face, and she gently fell back upon the bad, cupping her face with her palms, and started laughing, first gently, then building almost to hysteria – but not quite. Tears flowed from her eyes as she sat up, laughing, "Oh that is brilliant! Just brilliant! How _fantastic!_" She fell back upon the bed again with her arms spread wide, then hugged herself, rocking back and forth on the bed. "Oh Jon, you just won't believe it!"

"What, _please_ tell me!"

She sat up and looked directly into his eyes. "I need to talk with The Doctor." She looked at Pete apologetically. "Privately."

As soon as they assured him that no one was in any immediate danger, Pete cast a doubtful glance at the wall and left them. Rose's car had been delivered and was parked in the garage, so they could come and go as they pleased.

"Let me know what happens," he made them promise before he left.

Jon looked at the time. It was nearly 5:30. "OK," he said, "can you tell me what's going on before he calls?"

"Well, I can tell you this. You weren't an accident."

He looked gobsmacked. "Really? Well, _that's_ certainly refreshing. But how?"

"I don't remember very much," she cautioned,"so I can't tell you exactly how, but apparently when I had that bit of the Time Vortex in me, I saw into the future."

"Go on," he urged, fascinated.

She smiled ruefully. "I guess I saw that you – or rather, your brother - was going to dump me."

"Oh..."

"Yeah." She took a deep breath. "So I did something about it. I set the circumstances in motion that would lead to your creation. I scattered hints that would help lead everyone to the right places at the right times."

Jon paled. "Now Rose, that's truly frightening. Do you realise the damage you could have done to all the universes?"

"But it wasn't just me, Jon!" She anxiously tried to explain to him, "The Vortex was with me. It enabled and allowed me to do it. Somehow this all was _meant to be._"

He shook his head and smiled a little ruefully as he looked at her. "Rose Tyler, Defender and Creator of the Universes."

"I didn't create the universes, Jon, just you," she teased. "But, more seriously, there's something that I have to tell him."

"What's that?"

"Not to ever lose hope. That he is loved, and to believe in himself, and to believe in us."

"Us?"

"Yeah, us. He's going to need us someday." She shrugged. "That's what was impressed upon me."

The phone rang. "You or me?" Jon asked.

"You," said Rose. "Find out what he wants, then I'll talk to him last."


	22. Chapter 22

Rose PT10

"Hello."

Rose listened as Jon talked to his brother, "the" Doctor. She wasn't quite sure how else to think of him. It was so odd, because she thought of Jon as "the Doctor" too. As the two of them conversed, she mulled over what she had discovered. It made so much sense now. Jon was so perfect for her. She still worried over his brother. He shouldn't be alone. He needed someone to remind him of the goodness of life, to light his path so the darkness would not take over. It sounded like they were talking about Donna. "I'm so sorry," Jon was saying. She looked at him with alarm. Had something happened to Donna? He held up a finger, silently telling her to wait. "Later," he mouthed.

"... Jonathan Noble-Storm... thank you... yeah, Rose picked it out, I like it... no, no middle name yet, although Oedipus might be appropriate... Why? Well, we had a visit from the Bad Wolf today...no, nothing bad happened... I'll let Rose explain it to you." He grinned and handed her phone over to her.

"Hello, Doctor." She felt the tears welling up and fiercely blinked them back. "We're fine, better than that, we're perfect. Everything's just perfect... we couldn't be happier... no, I'm not angry with you anymore... it was meant to be this way... no, really, it _was_ meant to be this way... I did this when I was the Bad Wolf... yes (laughing)... I'm totally serious, I was the one who's been manipulating the time lines, apparently, starting 'way back then... I brought us all together... and apparently I set Jon's creation in motion... I don't know, I can't remember very much of it... but apparently it's true... and the Bad Wolf has a message for you..."

Jon got up to leave at this point, to give her some privacy, but she grabbed his hand and her eyes pleaded with him to stay, so he sat back down. She laced her fingers through his and held on as if for dear life.

"The message is, don't despair, don't give up hope, no matter how bad things look. The universes need you. Believe in your self, and believe in us. Somehow we will be there for you when you need us. You are loved, you deserve to be loved, and you always will be loved. Jon loves you," and here she began to lose control, "... and _I _love you. I have always loved you, and I always will."

She handed the phone back to Jon while she did her best to stifle her sobs.

"Alright then, she's done... yes, I do believe that's what happened... yes, it is amazing... yes, I'll do that...I understand. I'll tell her. Goodbye, brother. And like Rose said, remember we love you."

He snapped the phone shut. "He doesn't know if or when he'll ever be able to call again. The wormhole he found is unstable, and he's afraid it will become more so the more he uses it." She nodded through her tears, she had suspected as much. She was grateful he'd done this much. "He also wants me to give you his love," Jon said gently, "...and there's more." He sighed heavily. "Donna's mind couldn't handle the Time Lord knowledge, he had to take all knowledge of himself, of us, and everything that happened from her, or she would have died. She's with her family now, leading a normal life."

"You mean he's alone again?"

"I'm afraid so. But he needs to be, Rose, at least for now. He needs some alone-time to heal." He smiled. "He was in the Lupus constellation when he found the wormhole."

"Of course," she laughed through her tears.

"Of course," he agreed. "All better now, yeah?"

"Yeah." She cupped his face in her hands. "Jon, I really meant what I told him. You are the perfect man for me, and I couldn't be happier. I'm truly glad things worked out the way they did."

"You mean you're glad _your_ plans came to fruition!" he joked.

"Yep!" She wiped away her tears. "No more crying, from now on, things will be fantastic! Our adventures are just beginning, and I can't wait to get started."

"Neither can I. Which brings me to something I've been meaning to ask you, Rose Tyler."

At her questioning look, he reached into his breast pocket and retrieved the small envelope he had stashed there earlier in the day. Opening it up, he emptied it into his hand, then held the object up for her to see. It was a ring, with a stone like none she'd ever seen before. It had an overall pinkish color, but it changed color somewhat according to how the light hit it. It was in the shape of a rose. She had never seen anything so beautiful.

"It's from the planet Rosario," he grinned. "Can you actually believe they have so many of these on that planet that they have little value to them? He picked it up and kept it because it reminded him of you. He must've slipped it in my pocket. Pete had it set for me today. It's the second most beautiful thing I've ever seen." He got down on one knee. She gasped at what she knew was coming.

"Rose Tyler, I love you more than mere words can ever say. I almost can't believe that I get to spend this one life with you. Will you marry me?"

"Yes!" She leaped into his arms.

"You're crying again. Thought you weren't going to do that anymore," he teased as they fell over backwards onto the floor, laughing.

"Oh shut up!" She snogged him thoroughly so he didn't have much choice.


	23. Epilogue

Epilogue

They lay out on a blanket later that night, staring up at the night. A shooting star flashed across the sky. They both wondered where the Doctor was, what he was doing. They both wished they could share their happiness with him.

As Rose lay there, snuggled against her husband-to-be, she thought wonderingly about all that had happened to bring them here. "Jon?"

"Hhmmph?" He'd been ready to fall asleep right there under the stars.

"The Time Vortex. Do you suppose it could be God?"

He said sleepily, "We Gallifreyans never thought of it that way. We viewed it as a wondrous tool, an incredible phenomena, but not as a deity."

"I really think might be God."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, it did help me create this life. And it gave me a message for your brother."

"You may be giving it characteristics it doesn't really possess, Rose. It's called anthropomorphism. You may have attributed your own beliefs, and the visions and abilities you had while you were under its influence, to a person that really wasn't there."

"You really know how to take the fun out of things."

"Yeah, it's a rare talent."

"I still think it's possible."

"Anything's possible, Rose. Scientists over hundreds of thousands of years have tried to understand the Time Vortex, and the more we discover about it, the more we realise we don't know. Your experience is unique, many people have looked into the Vortex and been killed outright or changed permanently, but with no memory of it, but no one has ever actually _taken in_ the Vortex and lived to talk about it. It even killed me, and though I regenerated, I don't remember a thing about the experience, except that it happened. Although," he allowed, "if the Time Vortex is God, then you're an Angel, and that I could definitely believe." He reached over and took her hand in his. She could feel his smile, although she couldn't see it.

They both mulled things over for awhile.

"Jon?"

"Yes Rose?"

"Why did the Doctor think you're dangerous? I just don't see it in you."

"That's because nothing has threatened us yet. I also have more peace of mind here, with you, than I would have if I were traveling with him, sharing the weight of the Universes. I'm still capable of being the Oncoming Storm, Rose, if need be. Unfortunately, I can't really see the time lines anymore, so I can't calculate the consequences of my decisions. So," he concluded, "this is the best place for me to be. And I'm incredibly lucky to be able to share this life with you, love of my life." With that, he rolled over and kissed her deeply.

She smiled and stroked his really, really great hair. "So that's why you're different then. No responsibilities? Because you _are_ different, Jon, in a good way. I'm not complaining, mind you. I love you. I just want to understand it."

"Rose, right now I am the Doctor as he was always meant to be. He was never meant to be alone, none of us were. He got talked into doing things he never should have." Jon's voice took on an edge and a bitterness that she'd heard before, from his brother. "The Time Lords got too arrogant, they began to think _they_ were gods, basically, and their decision to try to exterminate the Daleks was the beginning of the end for them. And their decision to have me – or rather, my brother – carry out their decisions broke him. He's never really recovered from it. He just carries on the best he can."

"But you're different. You're not as dark as he, but he seemed to think you were."

"At the moment that I killed off those Daleks, I was. It's why he was so horrified and repulsed by me. I reminded him of the horrible things he was convinced into doing, which led up to all of this. But leaving me here with you was brilliant. My human half, Donna's life memories, and the peace I'm finding here with you, are all healing me. As different as I am, I'm actually more Doctor than he is right now. Weird, yeah?"

"Yeah. Weird and wonderful." She smiled and kissed him. "Let's go to bed."

The End...

...of this story, but more adventures to come.


End file.
